Hedging Your Bets
by sashsweetie
Summary: Thirteen enters a bet which requires her to seduce Cameron. But where will it leave the two of them? Eventual Camteen/Cadley. SO SORRY! There was an uploading glitch that left out part of the 4th chapter! Fixed now!
1. Friendliness as a Manipulation Tactic

"Want in?" Thirteen looked up from the file she was reading to have Taub standing over her.

"On what?" she questioned, turning back to the file. She wasn't overly interested in petty betting games.

"House is betting Cameron is bi. Kutner and I say no. Foreman says no. Chase says yes."

Thirteen's head jerked up. "_Chase_ says yes?"

Taub nodded. "He said she's never brought it up, but he thinks yes."

Thirteen thought for a moment. This could be an interesting game. "What is House basing his bet on?" she questioned, tapping her lower lip with her pen.

"The amount of time Cameron seems to be spending in Cuddy's office."

Thirteen scoffed. "Cuddy is _not_ bi."

Taub raised his eyebrows. "She hasn't dated anyone since we've worked here. And she's hot."

Thirteen rolled her eyes. "She's in love with House, Taub. And not dating is not an indication of lesbianism."

"So you're betting 'no', then."

"Right."

"Good. House was hoping you would so he could order you to try and seduce her." Taub grinned.

Thirteen glared. "First of all, if I'm betting 'no', I could just not try very hard and skew the results. Secondly, since when does House get to order me to seduce people?"

Taub shrugged. "It's House." He pointed out.

"Yeah." Thirteen sighed and turned back to her file. At least Cameron was hot.

**Later That Day**

"Hey Cameron" Allison Cameron was surprised to find Thirteen to be the source of the greeting. She frowned, suspicious. The woman wasn't known for her friendliness.

"Hi." She replied slowly.

"There's not much going on, so House told me to come and help you out."

Cameron snorted. "He couldn't think of something less useful for you to do?" she raised an eyebrow.

Thirteen shrugged. "I guess not. He gave Kutner his clinic hours. So…Do you need help?"

She seemed genuine enough. Cameron nodded. "Yeah, actually, that would be great. We're a bit understaffed."

"Cool. What can I do?" Cameron handed her half of the stack of files she was carrying.

"If you could get through these I'd be really grateful."

"I'll race you." Thirteen threw over her shoulder as she headed for the waiting room.

Cameron smiled, following. Perhaps she could get along with the other woman better than she'd thought.

A few hours later, Thirteen placed her last file in the "complete" stack and took a seat in one of the waiting room chairs. The place was much emptier than before. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she rested her forehead on them. "Looks like you beat me." Thirteen felt Cameron sink down beside her and turned her head on her knees.

"Guess so." She smiled a little.

"I was going to go get coffee. You look like you could use some. Want to come?" The blonde doctor invited. Thirteen nodded tiredly and climbed to her feet, following Cameron out of the ER and into the elevator. It was late at night and the cafeteria was void of people as they entered, filling cups of coffee and taking seats at an empty table. They sat silently, concentrated on sipping their coffee and the silence, and Thirteen found that she was surprisingly comfortable with Cameron. The blonde wasn't going out of her way to make awkward conversation about boring topics - she seemed just as content to sit in silence as Thirteen did.

Several hours later, Thirteen climbed out of her scrubs, stuffing them in her bag and reaching for her coat. She looked up briefly as the door opened to reveal Cameron and gave a wan smile in her direction and received on in return. She knew she was meant to be seducing the woman, but she was too tired to care at the moment. Slipping into her coat, she threw her bag over her shoulder and started leaving the room. "Bye, Dr. Hadley."

Thirteen stopped, surprised to hear Cameron address her. She turned around. "Um…Bye…Dr. Cameron." She stumbled over the words and then exited the room quickly. This is why being friendly was a bad idea, she thought, frustrated. It took down your walls. Personal connections made life difficult, more complicated. Sarcasm and bitchiness kept people from wanting to know you. It gave you a competitive edge. It was lonely, sure, but it wasn't as though there was anyone in the hospital she really wanted to get to know. Being a doctor was what she lived for, not personal connections. She sighed, exiting the hospital doors. This bet could get problematic.


	2. Perception n' Reality Don't Always Match

Thirteen stared as Cameron entered the room with dark brown hair, as did everyone else. "You're a brunette again" House cracked. "Was being a blonde making you feel stupid?"

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Why am I here?"

House handed her a file. "Amara King, 18."

Cameron frowned. "I treated her for a spiral fracture of the ulna she sustained while ice skating this morning."

"Did she mention hitting her head or any dizziness prior to the fall?" House questioned. Cameron shook her head.

"I asked, she said no."

"She was admitted with a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage about half an hour ago." Thirteen chipped in.

"Nothing to suggest a head injury?" Cameron questioned, looking over the admittance paper.

"Nope." Taub announced.

"So why am I here again?" Cameron asked. She crossed her arms and eyed House.

"You don't want to follow through, let the patient know you care?" He made false puppy-dog eyes at her.

Cameron sighed. "Well, I'm here now." She wandered over to the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee and took a seat beside Thirteen. "It seems unlikely that the haemorrhage would occur spontaneously so close to her previous injury. The fall could have been a symptom."

Thirteen nodded, agreeing. "Maybe loss of balance due to hemiparesis. Her mom had just gotten her home when she collapsed, so the time span would fit."

House nodded. "Okay, but you're missing the point. Why is a healthy 18 year old with no medical history having a subarachnoid haemorrhage in the first place?"

"Blood disorder, Cocaine abuse, cerebral aneurism…" Thirteen paused. "There are plenty of fairly obvious reasons. Why are we taking this case? I don't see the interest for you."

"We're doctors, Thirteen. It's what we do." House informed her.

"So….Cuddy made you?" Cameron guessed.

House shrugged. "You and Thirteen run blood samples. Taub, find out if she's been taking cocaine. Kutner and Foreman, you're in charge of searching the patient's house." They went off, sighing, to do their various chores.

"You don't have to stay, you know" Thirteen commented as they ran through samples of the patient's blood.

"It's fine." Cameron shook her head. "He's right. She was my patient. Thanks though." She smiled briefly at the other woman.

Thirteen sighed. "Well, I'm not finding anything unusual."

Cameron looked up from her microscope. "Me neither. I'll just test the patient's clotting time and then I think we're done here."

"Okay."

"The patient has an irregular clotting time." Cameron announced as she walked into House's office.

Thirteen frowned. "There was nothing in her blood tests to explain that."

"Nothing irregular at the house either." Foreman pointed out.

"It's not dangerously long, but it could be enough to explain the haemorrhage." Cameron replied.

"But she isn't taking anticoagulants, and if there's nothing on her blood tests…" Kutner put in.

Thirteen pondered for a moment. "What if she's self medicating?" she questioned.

"With what?" Cameron questioned.

"Well, aspirin can act as an anticoagulant, for example. And it's a pretty normal thing to find lying around the house." Thirteen pointed out.

"It would take a fair amount of aspirin on a regular basis to change her clotting time this much." Cameron argued.

Thirteen shrugged. "No harm in checking." Cameron nodded in agreement, looking to House.

"Do it." He motioned the two of them out of the room.

"Amara?" Thirteen squeezed the sleeping girl's shoulder gently. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Yes, Dr. Hadley?" she questioned, sitting up and smiling at the two of them.

"Do you by any chance take aspirin on a regular basis?" Thirteen questioned.

Amara nodded. "I get migraines."

"Often?" Cameron jumped in.

The girl looked up at her, surprised. "Every few days."

Dr. Cameron nodded. "You were right." She looked over at Thirteen, smiling softly.

The girl looked between them. "About what?"

"We think your regular use of aspirin might be thinning your blood, leading to the subarachnoid bleeding that happened yesterday." Thirteen explained.

"But now we know why you were taking so much, we can get you a prescription medication for your migraines so it won't happen again." Cameron finished.

The girl looked down at her bed. "I didn't realise…"

"Most people don't." Cameron cut her off, reassuring her. "We'll have to keep you here for recovery, but then we can give you a prescription for the migraines and you'll be out of the hospital." She smiled at the younger woman.

"Okay." Amara smiled back at her. "Thanks"

"No problem." Thirteen replied, leaving the room. Cameron followed behind her.

"Ugh. I can't believe I have a shift starting in a few hours." She stretched her arms behind her back and yawned.

"At least this case is solved so you can sleep till then." Thirteen pointed out, slowing down to walk beside the other doctor.

"Mmm…Yeah." Cameron nodded.

"I like your hair that colour, by the way." Thirteen commented, eying the shiny mass that was tumbling down Cameron's back.

Cameron blushed. "Thanks. I can only handle being blonde for so long." She admitted.

"House's comments getting to you?" Thirteen joked.

"Nah. I just…like my hair brown."

Thirteen shrugged. "'Kay, well I should go tell House we got this thing figured out."

"And I seriously need some sleep. I'll be in one of the on-call rooms if you need anything." Cameron started wandering off down the hallway.

"And what would I need you for, Dr. Cameron?" Thirteen quipped, raising her eyebrows at the doctor's back before realising the implication of her words. She had completely forgotten about the bet.

Cameron paused and turned to face the rather stunned Dr. Hadley. A smirk made its way across her face. "You never know." She replied ambiguously. "Night, _Thirteen_." She turned and continued her walk down the hallway.

Thirteen stood, confused, for a moment before walking rapidly in the opposite direction towards House's office. If she wasn't mistaken, Cameron had just been flirting with her.


	3. Jealousy Gets You Nowhere Good

"Come out for drinks" Foreman urged.

Thirteen shook her head. "No, thanks." She stuffed her scrubs into her bag.

"C'mon. I'm meeting Chase and Cameron. It'll be fun."

Thirteen looked at him, then her watch and sighed. She turned the guy down a lot. "Okay, but not for too long." She gave in.

Foreman smiled. "Good, let's go."

"Hey!" Cameron looked up and smiled as she saw Thirteen. "I didn't know you two were…" she made motions between Thirteen and Foreman.

Thirteen's eyes widened. "We're not." She negated quickly, trying to ignore the hurt look on Foreman's face. "Foreman is just trying to socialise me." She rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Cameron. Foreman sat next to Chase.

"What's up?" Chase questioned.

"Not much. You?"

Chase shook his head and the two of them launched into some discussion of sports.

Cameron grinned. "Let's go get drinks."

"Please." Thirteen stood and they headed over to the bar.

Cameron quickly discovered that Thirteen loosened up under the influence. While she wasn't surprised by the other woman's dry and sarcastic sense of humour, she was surprised by how much fun she had talking to her. She chose to ignore the frustrated looks Chase was giving her trying to get her back to the table in favour of exchanging stories with Thirteen.

Finally, Foreman made his way over to the bar. "You ladies care to join us at the table? I think your boyfriend is getting a little annoyed." He tossed in Cameron's direction.

She rolled her eyes. "Baby."

Thirteen chuckled. "You're mean." She informed Cameron. "But yes, we will join you at the table." She informed Foreman. She doubted Cameron would mind the decision, and Chase certainly looked pleased to see the three of them heading in his direction.

"I thought Thirteen had stolen you away from me." He half-joked as they sat back down.

"Not yet." Cameron winked at Thirteen, leaving Chase looking disgruntled. Cameron noticed his face and laughed. "Oh, calm down, Chase. We were just reminiscing about med school and residencies." He looked slightly mollified at that.

"I should go, actually. I'm exhausted." Thirteen announced. "But this was fun. Thanks for inviting me." She directed this last part at Foreman.

"We should get going too." Chase agreed, looking at his watch.

Foreman nodded.

"Bye Remy." Cameron smiled as she and Chase climbed into their car.

"Bye Ally." Thirteen gave her a smile in return, locating her helmet.

"You two on a first name basis now?" Chase asked grumpily from the driver's seat.

"_What_ are you so worked up about?" Cameron demanded. "Is it so awful if my whole life doesn't revolve around you? Are you really that jealous? You actually seem afraid you're going to lose me to everybody!"

Chase was getting a little more worried about this bet than he cared to admit. "I just…I don't know." He said lamely.

Cameron looked at him in shock. "You _are_ worried." She said slowly. "You don't think I'm committed to this relationship." Chase stayed silent. It was what had been on his mind when House had suggested this to him. It seemed like getting Thirteen to try and seduce his girlfriend would be both amusing and sort of a test. Cameron snorted. "You are unbelievable." She crossed her arms and looked out of the window. Chase sighed and started the car. She was going to be pissed off for a long time on this one.


	4. Conscious Destruction

"When you came up with this bet did you consider the fact that it could destroy a relationship?" Thirteen leaned in the doorway of House's office.

"Yes, but Chase didn't seem overly concerned, so why the hell would I care?" was House's snarky response.

Thirteen snorted. "That didn't seem to be how he felt last night." She commented.

House's interest piqued. "What happened last night?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

She sighed. "Nothing. But that isn't the point. I'm not interested in being a part of destroying a relationship. I'm out."

House was suspicious. "Why would you care about destroying Chase and Cameron's relationship?"

Thirteen rolled her eyes. She wasn't about to admit to House that she was a developing a crush on the woman he had sent her to seduce. "It's a pretty horrible thing to do over a bet." She pointed out.

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Cameron found her later, staring blankly out the window of the doctor's lounge, sipping on a mug of coffee. "Penny for your thoughts." The voice caught her unaware, causing her to jump and spill coffee on herself. "Sorry!" Cameron was apologetic. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Thirteen shook her head. "It's no problem. I have clean scrubs in my locker." She smiled at the other woman. "I hope Chase wasn't too frustrated last night." She commented off-hand. She had seen them arguing in the car.

Cameron sighed. "He was just being possessive and jealous. As usual." She wandered off to pour herself some coffee, not looking at Thirteen. "For some reason he seemed to think you were interested in me."

Thirteen's stomach dropped. "Umm…" she stumbled.

"Silly, I know." Cameron cut her off before she could say anything else and sat down on a couch. "But let's not talk about him." She smiled. "What's new in diagnostics?"

Thirteen shrugged, her thoughts still on Cameron's previous words and her conversation with House that morning. "No new cases. I ended up doing House's clinic hours." She paused. "I was going to come up to the ER after my coffee, to avoid being roped into something completely useless, but Chase seemed pretty pissed last night. I don't want to cause problems."

Cameron grimaced. "Ignore _him_. I'd like the company. It's been a bit lonely up there today. Slow." Thirteen thought she sounded hopeful.

"Okay." They sat in silence for a while, each in their own thoughts.

"I should get back." Cameron commented eventually.

"Let's go." Thirteen grabbed Cameron's coffee mug and put it in the sink along with her own.

"Didn't you want to change?" Cameron asked tentatively.

Thirteen looked down at her scrubs and shook her head. "They'll get dirty in the ER anyway."

It was 8:30 by the time Cameron finished with her last file. She put it away and vaguely wondered where Thirteen had gotten to. The aforementioned emerged from an examination room to come and stand beside her. "Please tell me you're finished." She informed Cameron, propping her chin on a hand. Cameron nodded.

"Done, and starving."

"Yeah, food sounds like a good idea."

"Chase is working late tonight. Want to grab a bite to eat?" Cameron questioned.

Thirteen considered the question for all of thirty seconds before agreeing. After deciding Chase probably wouldn't injure her for having dinner with his gorgeous girlfriend, she nodded. "That would be great." This earned her a huge smile from Cameron. A few minutes later she had Cameron on the back of her scooter and they were whizzing in the direction of one of Thirteen's favourite restaurants. "This place is awesome!" she yelled. "Best steak ever!" she took a corner particularly sharply causing Cameron to wrap her arms even tighter around her waist. Thirteen grinned to herself. This was turning out to be a good day.

Cameron grinned at her as she removed her helmet. "They just better have good mashed potatoes or I'll be grumpy." Dinner and a nice glass of wine later, they wandered out of the restaurant and onto the street. "So do I get a ride home on the scooter?" Cameron questioned, biting her lip prettily.

Thirteen laughed. "How am I supposed to say 'no' to that face?" she joked. "Of course I'll give you a ride."

"Awesome." Cameron climbed up behind her and wrapped her arms around Thirteen's waist, her cheek leaning on her back. Thirteen blushed and started the bike up.

"So where am I going?" she questioned.

"Here we are." Cameron hopped off from behind her.

"Nice place!" Thirteen looked up at the old stone building.

Cameron nodded. "It's all original fittings and stuff."

"Wow."

"Um..Do you want to come in and see?" Cameron invited, seeing the interested look on her face.

Thirteen's face lit up. "Can I?" Cameron laughed and offered her a hand.

"Come on."

"I take it you and Chase bought it together?" Thirteen wandered through the apartment. "This can't have come cheap."

"No, but I couldn't resist it." Cameron admitted. "I fell in love as soon as we walked in the door."

"It's amazing, Ally." Thirteen squeezed her hand. She looked at her watch. "I should go." she sighed. "Another early morning tomorrow."

Ally nodded. "Me too."

"Thanks for showing me this." Thirteen gestured to the apartment.

Ally smiled. "My pleasure." She walked Thirteen to the door. "Remy?"

Thirteen turned to have Ally's lips brush against her own, tentatively. She lifted a hand to Ally's cheek, running her hand through her hair. "Are you sure?" she asked. Ally nodded and pushed her back against the door so she could kiss Remy harder.

"Chase doesn't get off until midnight or so. He had a late surgery." Ally informed her between kisses, relocating her to the living room couch.

"Excellent." Remy pushed her into a sitting position on the couch and straddled her, tangling her hands in Ally's long hair and biting down her neckline.

Ally moaned. Remy removed her jacket and threw it indelicately to the floor. Ally's hands explored under her shirt delicately, unhooking her bra and pulling it from her before laying Remy out on the couch and pushing up the tank top to gain access to her breasts. "Fuck me, you're hot, Dr. Cameron." Remy breathed as Ally ran her tongue lightly from her belly button to her neck making her every hair stand on end before moving on to nibble her breasts delicately.

"Well you're pretty hard to resist yourself." Cameron laughed as Remy undid her blouse buttons and then divested her of her jeans, raising an eyebrow at her white lace bra and panties. Ally laughed at the look on her face. "I have a girly side, okay?"

"Evidently." Remy paused for a moment to take in the sight of a scantily clad Allison Cameron. "You know, I think you would have made an excellent naughty Catholic school girl." She informed the other woman before pouncing on her, reorganising their bodies so she was on top this time. Cameron giggled.

"You know it." She pulled Remy in for another kiss.


	5. Apparently, Cheaters Sometimes Prosper

Ally woke slightly as she heard the door lock and felt Remy slide into the bed beside her. "Hey sleepy girl." Remy's voice whispered in her ear and Ally felt arms wrap around her.

She smiled. "Hey, Rem." She cuddled into the other woman. She'd been cheating on Chase for weeks now, ever since that one night after dinner. He thought she was still mad at about their spat, but really she was drifting away from him bit by bit and directly into Remy's waiting arms. It wasn't like Remy cared she was dating Chase. It was pretty obvious where her feelings lay. They'd disappear into on call rooms or to Remy's apartment, or now and then her own if she could be sure Chase wouldn't return to interrupt them. She knew she'd have to leave him soon. But soon wasn't right now. She slipped her hands under Remy's scrubs and Remy gasped.

"Your hands are cold!" she whimpered.

"Mmm hmm." Ally murmured, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and drifting slowly back to sleep. She spent as many nights in the on call room as at home, these days. Remy tucked her head under her chin and nodded off too.

**The Next Day**

They had to dress quickly the next morning, having decided that early morning sex was more important than getting out of bed on time. "I'm going to end things with Chase today." Ally decided out loud.

Remy lifted her chin and looked into her eyes carefully. "Are you sure Ally?" she asked tentatively. Ally nodded. She'd been frustrated with Chase far before Remy came along.

"I want to be with you, Rem. Just you." Ally lifted a finger and ran it gently along Remy's cheekbone. Remy grabbed her hand and kissed it softly.

"I want to be with just you too." She murmured. Ally smiled.

"I'm glad it's mutual." She joked. "Can I stay at yours tonight?"

Remy nodded. "Of course."

Chase came home to find her packing. "Where are you going?" he asked nervously.

Ally looked up from her suitcase. "I'm leaving, Chase." She didn't look him in the eye.

"You're leaving me?" he asked, his voice rising and breaking with panic and sadness.

Ally nodded. "It isn't working any more."

"What? Why. We can work it out, Allison. We always have." Chase begged.

"Not this time." Ally looked him in the eye. "I'm not in love with you any more." Chase started crying, and she squeezed his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry, Rob." She said honestly.

He nodded. He could tell she wasn't going to change her mind, at least not now. "Where are you staying?" he asked quietly.

"At Remy's." Ally zipped up her bag without looking at him.

Sudden realisation dawned upon him. "You're leaving me for her." He accused her.

Ally shook her head. "I would have left you anyway, in the end."

He stood up, angry. "You know there was a bet going regarding whether she could seduce you." He said desperately.

Ally glared at him. "I also know that _you_ started that bet with House and that Remy ended it because she could see the damage it would do to this relationship."

"And then she slept with you anyways." Chase sneered.

"It was a mutual decision." Ally hoisted the bag over her shoulder. "We should talk about what to do with the apartment and stuff when you've calmed down. I'll see you later, Chase." She headed for the door and walked out. He didn't even try to follow her.

She cried, later. Curled on the couch she sobbed her heart out onto Remy's lap. She felt lighter, and knew she'd made the right decision, but that didn't make it any easier. Remy cuddled her, and stroked her hair, but she knew there wasn't much else she could do. This was something Ally had to cope with on her own. It wasn't the best official start to their relationship, but it was a very honest one.

Later, when Ally had stopped crying and they were lying entwined in one another close to sleep, she heard Ally whisper on the edge of her consciousness: "This is exactly where I want to be" and smiled.

"Me too."


End file.
